When listing skills that financial services representative should have, financial prowess and industry knowledge should be at the top. These skills are standard for any candidate, along with the appropriate certifications and degrees.

But what are the skills that will set a candidate apart? You need to bring more than the basic requirements to the table if you want to succeed as a financial services representative. You may be an expert in your field, but so are other candidates.

In order to set yourself apart from the competition, make sure these skills are on your resume.

1. Communication and People Skills

When working as a financial services representative, you’ll be working with a plethora of people. Whether you’re communicating with other financial experts or clients, you’ll be conveying complex information. Clarity is therefore of the utmost importance.

It’s key that a good candidate has written and verbal communication skills, and can get their point across to the right audience. If they’re explaining an investment opportunity to a client, they need to be able to help them understand the nuances. If they’re discussing industry trends with a coworker, they need to be eloquent.

Additionally, financial services representatives need to be team players with high emotional intelligence. The financial services industry is about numbers and analytics, yes, but it is also very much rooted in relationships. Therefore, employers and recruiters will be looking for these skills early on in the process.

2. Problem Solving

When dealing with complex information and systems, it’s important to have the tools to solve complex problems that arise within those systems. And when working as a financial services representative, you’ll need to solve dilemmas with rather high stakes.

With the financial wellbeing of your clients – and perhaps even more people, depending on your specialization – relying on your work, it’s important that you’re able to get them out of tight spots. Whether it has to do with taxes, investments, business structure, or another area of finance, there are a lot of factors that can affect a client’s situation.

Employers want to be sure that you, as a financial services representative, are equipped to handle those complications.

3. Analytics

Financial services representatives work with a lot of numbers. And while performing mathematical functions is key to this occupation, professionals also need to be able to understand what these numbers mean. This is how you turn raw data into insight.

The insights that financial services representatives share with team members and clients are invaluable. They inform decisions from many parties. So making accurate assessments of raw data can help these parties to avoid bumps further down the road. (Even though you have problem-solving skills, you want to use them as little as possible.)

Be ready for potential employers to put these skills to the test.

4. Technical and Software Knowledge

In order to perform analysis and gather data, financial services representatives will need to use technology. Data bases and other software equip professionals with the knowledge they need to find the proper solutions for their clients.

Therefore, it is important for financial services representatives to understand the tech they are working with. If a rep has intimate knowledge of all the functionalities their software and tech offer, they have an enormous amount of information at their fingertips.

A fully-informed financial services representative is a successful one, so employers will find these skills very valuable.

5. Eagerness to Learn

It’s important to admit what you don’t know, and to work to fills those gaps of knowledge. No one enters the industry with a comprehensive knowledge of its inner-workings. So try to learn everything you can. You won’t become an expert overnight, but every little bit will help you to further your knowledge and skills until you do.

For example, browse some of our articles on financial services to gain some knowledge and expertise. And if you’re looking for a new opportunity in the industry, take a look at our job listings. If you choose to apply, one of our expert recruitment consultants will be in touch with relevant opportunities.